The cause behind what seemed like a Tallahassee-wide reek of natural gas could be measured in ounces.
It only takes a few drops of the chemical mercaptan to set off noses, but when ounces of it escaped in an old tank being removed from the Arvah B. Hopkins Power Generating Station on Geddie Road Thursday, it sent city officials into a scramble to find its source.
Natural gas is odorless; utilities add mercaptan to give it that familiar rotten egg smell.
The chemical, which is federally required so people can smell leaks, drifted on the wind, effectively blanketing the city and prompting an overwhelming number of calls from concerned residents.
“We just have a drop that goes in every couple of minutes,” said Stephen Mayfield, the manager of the city of Tallahassee Natural Gas Utility. “This was like an ounce or two that might have been released. That’s enough to cause this issue.”
Mercaptan is not harmful to people or the environment, Mayfield said. It is lighter than air and dissipates into the atmosphere.
Reports started coming in on the west side of town at about 11 a.m. As the chemical caught the wind to the east, calls from across the city began to flood 911 dispatchers and the city’s call center.
Mayfield said there are not leaks in the city’s gas system, which was checked along the 950 miles of lines by pressure gauges and monitoring flows.
“Everything is operating as it should be,” he said. “We actually traced it by the strongest smell. We followed our nose until we could tell where the smell was strongest.”
The odor prompted concern on social media with folks from all quadrants of the city describing the overpowering stench and worrying about a natural gas leak.
Mayfield said city officials would still investigate every call to make sure there are no leaks.
“We’re still going to go to every site and put eyeballs and a nose on it,” he said. “We’re not going to make the assumption this is what it was and were done.”
The city’s natural gas system serves 33,000 customers in Leon, Wakulla and Gadsden counties.
Contact Karl Etters at ketters@tallahassee.com or @KarlEtters on Twitter.
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Natural gas smell across Tallahassee linked to removal of old tank; no leaks detected - Tallahassee Democrat
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